no matter what
by DarkAngel19881
Summary: You really shouldn't go to bed angry at your family you never know what will happen limp sam
1. Chapter 1

No Matter What

Chapter one

When Sam Winchester woke up on that Tuesday morning, he wasn't aware that his life was about to change in an unexpected way. The only thought on his way on his mind was the argument he had with his older brother Dean. While arguments were rare between the two brothers, the ones they did have, were pretty bad.

This one was even worse than usual, it started with Sam arguing with their father about a hunt they were doing. John had been sure they were looking for vampires because the bodies found had been drained of blood. Sam however, didn't think and he'd voiced his opinions stating no fang marks had been found on the bodies. Dean had asked Sam what he thought had killed him, and Sam told them that it looked like some kind of ritual, which kind he wasn't sure of yet. John, of course, hadn't agreed and they continued searching for vampires. They found a nest and after eliminating them, Dean had remarked that it looked like Sam had been wrong after all. Sam had glared and ignored the feeling that something was still seriously wrong. He tried explaining his feeling to John and Dean later, but they had both laughed and told him he was overthinking things as usual. Sam had gotten mad and told Dean he would be sorry if it turned out to be something completely different from vampires.

"I'm telling you there is something strange with this town. If you're not going to do anything about it we should leave."

"Quit being a baby Sam, there's nothing else going on here." Dean said causing Sam to turn over and glare at him.

"I have the feeling that something bad is going to happen." he grumbled and Dean laughed, causing Sam to blush. He probably shouldn't have told Dean about his feeling, but he'd needed to confess to someone.

"Once again Sam you worry too much. Now stop worrying and leave me alone. I have one last date before we blow this town."

"I'm telling you something bad is going to happen and you're worried about a date, that's just great." Sam muttered glaring at Dean.

"Sam" Dean growled "knock it off, it's not like you care about hunting anyways, would it kill you to not be selfish for one day and let us get through this one?"

Sam glared at Dean again before rolling over to look at the clock beside the bed.

"Whatever I don't need your crap right now." Sam muttered as he threw his legs over the bed, and climbed to his feet.

"Sam, cut the attitude I really don't need it right now." Dean growled as Sam grabbed some clothes and went to the restroom. Quickly getting dressed, Sam headed into the kitchen to grab a pop tart off the counter.

Unwrapping the pop tart he decided to head to school a little early so that he could avoid any more arguing with his brother. He had enough to stress about without worrying about Dean and John.

"I'm heading to school" Sam muttered to Dean as he passed him outside on the porch. Dean shrugged and turned his back to Sam, causing Sam to frown. Sam couldn't explain it but something was going to happen today, he only hoped he didn't regret anything.

Ten minutes later Sam reached Lincoln County High school. He paused at the entrance something was screaming for him to turn and go back home; today would be a nice day to play hooky. Shaking his head, Sam entered the building. Sam was picked on every single minute he spent in this building but he tried to ignore it, and didn't bring it up to Dean or his father because he didn't want them thinking he was weaker than they already thought.

"Damn hunt" Sam muttered as he thought about the vampires they'd destroyed, he knew they weren't responsible for the bodies but he couldn't prove it. Frowning he made his way to his locker, he wasn't surprised to see Tommy Harris, Rodney Sims and Eric Morris waiting for him. These three had it in for Sam from day one, which Sam didn't understand because he'd never done anything to deserve getting picked by them.

"Well, if it isn't Sammy Winchester." Rodney sneered and Sam scowled, he wasn't registered under Winchester here, so he wondered how they knew his real last name. it was only when he saw Eric's eyes flash black that he understood what was going on. They were all possessed by demons, which meant the bodies were probably sacrifices to raise a higher demon. That was enough to have Sam start backing up, he needed to get out of there, because if they knew what he thought he knew he was in trouble.

Slipping and hand into his pocket, Sam pulled out his cell phone and blindly dialed Dean's number. He hoped Dean didn't hang up on him when he saw Sam calling but this was his only option.

"Sammy knows too much" Rodney said as he pulled out a switchblade "We can't let you go running to daddy and big brother so unfortunately you have to die here today." Sam glanced around him wondering where the other students were, he wasn't here that early, there should have been kids everywhere. Rodney came at Sam with a speed that Sam wasn't expecting, so he crammed his phone in his hoody pocket and tried to defend himself. Rodney however was too quick and sent the blade plunging deep into Sam's side.

Crying out in pain, Sam tried to take a swing at Rodney but Eric blocked it and with a flick of his wrist, broke Sam's wrist. Sam screamed as agony filled him, Rodney smirked as he pulled the blade out and slammed it into a spot above Sam's ribs, puncturing his lung. Tommy and Eric laugh as Sam fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. Tommy and Eric both sent their steel toed boots slamming into Sam's ribs, snapping them easily with the force of their kicks.

Sam moaned and cried out weakly for Dean, he had a feeling something bad was going to happen, he should have stayed home from school.

After beating and kicking Sam for several minutes Rodney called a halt to the beating. From the sounds of the whistling when Sam breathed, he definitely had a punctured lung, which meant he was likely to die before anyone found him.

"Dump him in the drainage ditch behind the school. By the time anyone notices he's missing he'll be dead." Rodney ordered and Tommy and Eric jumped to obey, not knowing that a pissed off Dean Winchester and John Winchester were silently listening, and gathering their own weapons.

"Those fuckers are going to die" Dean growled and slammed the phone shut after it went silent.


	2. Chapter 2

No matter what

Chapter 2

Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing; it was starting to make him sick to his stomach. His little brother was being beaten while he was forced to listen.

"Dean, help" his little brother moaned and the sound twisted Dean's heart. He wanted to jump through the phone to save his brother from the pain he was being put through. One thing was certain when he found the ones responsible for this; he was going to kill them.

"Dump his body in the drainage ditch behind the school, by the time anyone thinks to look for him, he'll already be dead." The voice sounded absolutely cold blooded and sent chills down Dean's spine, he watched wordlessly as his father gathered his weapons. It sounded like it meant nothing to this kid to beat a thirteen year old to death, and that was scary, that the kid even had that ability to take another's life. Dean had no room to talk, but the things he killed weren't human so it wasn't like their situations were the same. Dean's hands clinched into fists, it was getting harder and harder to listen to them beat his little brother.

Climbing to his feet, he grabbed his own pistol and shoved it into the waist band of his own pants. If they succeeded in killing Sam, nothing would stop Dean from hunting those assholes down and putting a bullet in them, human or not. No one messed with Sam Winchester and lived to tell about it.

Once the phone went silent, Dean started his GPS, hoping he could track Sam's phone to wherever they took him.

"We need to hurry, Dean" John called over his shoulder as he headed out the door, his voice nearly shaking with rage. One way or the other someone had a very high price to pay for what had just been done.

"He kept saying he had a bad feeling that something was going to happen." Dean said numbly as he climbed into the passenger side of the 67 impala.

"Maybe we should start listening more when he talks" John said as he backed out of the drive.

"What reason would someone have for doing something like this? What kind of trouble could he have gotten into to deserve something like this happening?"

"I think it's more than obvious that we are missing something." John said as he passed the school and made a left turn towards the drainage area. Parking by the side of the road, they hopped out, checking to make sure their weapons were secured, they started across the field. If they hadn't heard were they were taking Sam, they wouldn't have found him until it was too late.

Hearing voices, John raised his hand signaling Dean to stop, ducking down into the tall grass, they watched helplessly as the two boys tossed Sam's battered body into the ditch.

Anger filled Dean and he silently withdrew his pistol, those freaks weren't going to live to see another day if he had anything to say about it. As if sensing their presence the two boys looked at each other, before looking in the direction John and Dean were hiding. Knowing they were about to get beaten they turned and took off across the field.

"Go get your brother, I'll take care of those two." By the tone of his voice, Dean knew they were in even worse trouble than they expected. He couldn't find it anywhere in him to feel sorry for them, after all they had messed with Sam, they had to pay the price.

Dean nodded and started his descent into the concrete ditch, he didn't care that he slid into the standing water. Spotting Sam face down in about a foot of water, Dean raced towards him terror filling his heart. Dropping to his knees, Dean turned Sam over as easily as he could.

"Oh god" Dean muttered as he took in Sam's condition. Sam's face was bloody, his nose swollen, so Dean knew it was likely to be broken, and the whistling noise Dean heard when Sam breathed, was likely to be from a punctured lung, which meant Dean really needed to get Sam out of there before he drowned on his own blood. Dean quickly checked over the rest of his injuries, discovering at least four broken ribs. Dean cursed as he felt the unmistakable give as he ran his hands down Sam's sides, cursing Dean muttered about payback before standing and lifted Sam as gently as he could. Holding, him as tightly as possible without hurting him, Dean started looking for a way out.

The painful sounds escaping from Sam as he struggled to breathe tore Dean's heart to pieces. If he had listened to his little brother they might not be in this situation right now. Dean felt a tear from his face as his brother's gasping for air tore him up, this wasn't right, it shouldn't have happened.

Spotting a ladder, Dean headed straight for it, slipping Sam onto his shoulder Dena winced and released another tear as he heard Sam's pained cry.

"I'm sorry buddy, I don't mean to hurt you" Dean said as he started to climb up the ladder, he wasn't surprised when his father's head appeared at the top just a few seconds later.

"Here Dean, let me have him" John said as Dean struggled up the rest of the ladder.

"Call the medics" Dean said "he's in pretty bad shape." He didn't want to admit that the odds were against Sam making it to the hospital. He was still losing a lot of blood, not to mention he'd been face down in the water, and there was no telling how much of it he had inhaled. Sam moaned in pain again as Dean, as gently as he could, passed him to John.

"Keep fighting Sammy," Dean murmured softly as he pulled himself the rest of the way up the ladder. Sam yelped loudly in pain when John hit his ribs, Dean winced, hating pain that he was in.

"His ribs are broken" Dean said when the sound escaped from Sam's lips.

"I noticed" John muttered, his face darkening with rage at the thought of what his youngest brother had suffered. They might have escaped for now, but once Sam was taken care of, nothing was going to stop John from hunting them down.

John rushed across the field as quickly as he could without hurting Sam. his pants were starting to slow down which worried John, it was a miracle that he had made it this long, but he was glad Sam was still fighting. He didn't know what he would do without either of his boys. Behind him, he heard Dean talking into the phone, telling the dispatcher about Sam's condition. He hoped the medics would be waiting at the car for them, because Sam desperately needed help. He didn't know how much longer Sam could hold out. Dean winces as Sam made a choking noise and blood gushed from his mouth, which was another bad sign, it was a good indication of internal bleeding.

When they reached the car, they discovered the medics were indeed waiting for them. Dean didn't think he'd ever been so relieved in his life; Sam was finally going to get some help.

A blonde haired medic by the name of Mary took Sam from John and placed him on the gurney. She immediately started checking his injuries. Sam whimpered when she hit his ribs, and she frowned.

"I'm sorry," she said speaking gently to the barely conscious teen. She had never seen a kid this badly beaten before. And it hurt because it wasn't looking good for him, she was determined however that he would make it. She would make sure of it, if it was the last thing she done.

Checking the lung injury she looked at her partner before telling him they needed to intubate so that he could get some oxygen. They worked quickly to get the tube put in place, once it was where it needed to be, Mary hooked him up to a portable respirator.

"We need to transport now" she ordered and that being said they quickly got him loaded.

"Who's riding in with him?" Mary turned to look at John and Dean.

"I am" Dean said immediately, he wasn't about to let any other stranger lay their hands on Sam without him being present to protect him. climbing in the ambulance Dean took a seat beside Sam, and watched while Mary got busy with monitoring his vital stats.

"Is he going to be okay?" Dean asked, not liking how pale Sam was, and liking the look of the tube going down his throat even less. It hurt to see his brother like this; it made him wonder just what kind of brother he was to have allowed this to happen.

"He's in pretty bad shape" Mary said truthfully, as she inserted an IV into a vein in Sam's arm. "I don't know that he will. I've never seen a kid beaten this badly before." The words hurt Dean even more, and he looked down as pain tore through him. A tear dripped down from Dean's eye and landed on the back of Sam's hand. He wanted desperately to be able to trade places with Sam, so that Sam didn't have to suffer anymore.

"Please hang on Sammy" Dean pleaded as he took hold of Sam's hand. "I know I said some pretty crappy things to you, I never should have said them. After all you are the least selfish person I know. I wish I could trade places with you, because I would in a heartbeat. This should have happened to me not you, you done nothing to deserve this, so please just keep fighting for me okay, because as long as you are like this, I'm going to keep on fighting for you." Sobs tore from Dean's throat, and he raised Sam's hand and held it close to his face. He couldn't bear the thought of Sam dying, not after what he'd said. "Please hang on for me, Sammy; I don't know what I would do without you!"

**I promise next chapter will be longer! And Mystery Madchen, it's not a deathfic! **


	3. Chapter 3

No Matter What

Chapter 3

At the Hospital, Sam had been rushed straight into surgery. Dean knew no one was expecting him to make it. But he had faith in his little brother, he believed that Sam could pull through. Even though he might not want to after the argument they had gotten into this morning. How had things gone so wrong that they had yet again ended up at the hospital. Dean swallowed the bile he felt in the back of his throat. He had been a royal jerk to Sam this morning. Refusing, Sam the opportunity to even have an opinion about their hunt just because he had wanted to it to be finished. How long would Dean have to pay for that mistake? Would Sam even make it through the surgery so that he could apologize? Or would he have to live with the regret of the things he had said.

"Sammy is going to pull through" John says quietly knowing exactly what Dean is thinking. "Sam always pulls through, no matter how serious the injury." Dean swallows hard before turning to look at John.

"What if this is the one time that he doesn't. Sam is not immortal he can die." John's heart broke hearing in the pain in his oldest son's voice. He knew very well that Sam could really die this time.

"I know" John said "i just refuse to think that he will , because if I do. I have to think about a world without Sam, and as stubborn as the kid is. I can't do that, I love him too much to consider living in this world without him." John says, for once stating exactly what he was feeling. His sons needed him to be strong for them both, but they also both needed to know how much he loved them.

"I keep seeing him struggle to breathe and I see the blood pouring from his side. I wonder how in the world it will be possible for him to survive. The odds are against him, but I don't want to let him go. I have too much to make up for." Dean says looking at his father with tears in his eyes. "if he doesn't survive then I don't think I will either. I want to be wherever he is."

"Dean, Sam wouldn't want you to die just because he did. He would want you to keep living and keep fighting for him." John said "he would want you to leave this earth when it was your time and not a minute before it was up."

"How does one live without their heart?" Dean asks, breaking John's heart even more. "I don't even know how to survive without my kid brother. I don't want to have to learn, I refuse to learn to live without him."

"I don't know," John says "I'm still trying to figure that out myself." he thought of Mary and wondered what she would have thought of how he was raising the boys. He seriously doubted she would be proud of him, but what else could he do. He had to train them to protect themselves against what was out there. "For the most part it's one day at time one minute at a time. You don't stop missing them or loving them. Instead your love of them only gets stronger the longer you go without them. You long to have them back, but you know that wherever they are now, they are better off. You keep hoping that they are happy even if the thought of them being happy without you kills you, you know that them being happy is the only thing that truly matters." John sighs and his mind wonders to earlier that morning. Could that whole situation had been stopped if he had somehow made Sam late to school?

He would never know, because now they were sitting in the emergency surgery waiting room. Waiting to hear whether or not Sam had came through the surgery or not. He knew Dean was terrified of losing Sam, and to be honest John was too. He couldn't help but think he had been too tough on him, he should have let Sam state his opinion about the hunt. There were many other things John could have done and probably should have done. Now John could only think about the things he had done and regret them. His poor decision making could be the end of his youngest child's life. That wasn't something any father would be proud of. If Sam didn't make it, he would have to live with it for the rest of his life, however long or short that that may be.

"Why is it we always end up in the ER and this is always where we think about what we should have done?" Dean wonders. It seemed it always happened like this, they should be thinking of things they could be doing before it got to this point. That never happened and they always ended up with a shit ton of guilt on their shoulders.

"We're both stubborn that's why" John answers looking down at the ground. "We don't like thinking that there is the possibility that we are wrong."

they spent the next several minutes lost in their own thoughts. It was only when they heard their name being called that they bothered to say anything.

"Winchester family?" an older doctor called and John stood up. Surely they had good news right?

The doctor introduces himself as Dr. Cole.

"I was your son's surgeon," he started.

"How is he?" Dean interrupts "did he make it through the surgery?"

"It got rough for a little while but Sam did come through the surgery. We were able to fix his internal bleeding that the stabbing caused. We have a tube inserted in his right side that is re-inflating his lung. Sam is going to be on a respirator while this goes on." Dr. Cole explains. "He also has several broken ribs that along is going to take anywhere from six to eight weeks to heal. So I would be expecting a long recovery for Sam."

"So he's going to make it?" Dean asks, the hope in his voice nearly breaking John's heart. If he had been a better father they wouldn't be in this situation at all.

"Yes, he is going to be okay." Dr. Cole smiles sensing the love for the injured boy in the people around him. He was glad that he had good news for this family because there for a while it looked like the young man wasn't going to make it.

"If you don't mind me asking? How did he end up in this condition?" Dr. Cole asks. He had the feeling it wasn't the family that had done it, it was clear from looking at them that they loved the boy dearly.

"Bullies" John answers though the real monster responsible wasn't an actual person. Dr. Cole shook his head.

"That's a shame, kids should be taught better than to treat someone with no respect whatsoever. They should be taught to not pick on someone weaker than them." John nodded.

"When can we see Sam?" Dean asks and Dr. Cole smiles he had the feeling keeping the young man away from his little brother would be pointless.

"Follow me and I will take you to him." he said as he started walking away. John and Dean followed wondering how hard it would be to see their badly beaten family member.

Once they reached the room, Dr. Cole turned towards them and said.

"I know you want to be with him but I must stress that its very important that he gets rest. Under no circumstances do not stress him. If he is to recover he needs all the rest he can get." Dean nods barely listening before disappearing into Sam's room. He wasn't going to put Sam under any stress he just wanted his little brother to know that he was there for him.

Dean wasn't surprised at how awful his brother looked, his face was swollen and bruised. He had a tube inserted in his mouth that led to a machine that was helping him breathe. Dean hated it but he knew that if he wanted Sam to make it, he needed it.

Approaching the bed, Dean reached out and took the hand that didn't have the IV needle in it.

"I'm so sorry Sammy" Dean choked, tears filling his eyes. "If I was a better brother this wouldn't have happened. I should have known you were right that there is something wrong with this town." Sam being in the hospital was his fault. He should have done something, he should have been able to get to Sam faster or something. Anything would have been better than standing there and listen to those black eyed freaks beating on his brother.

"Dean you are already an amazing brother, and Sam knows that" John said from the doorway. "He wouldn't want you to be feeling the way you are right now."

"I can't help it" Dean chokes out "I keep hearing those guys beat him over the phone and think I should have done something earlier."

"You couldn't have done anything, they would have been gone by the time you had gotten to the school." John says "we know who they are and as soon as Sam is feeling better we are going to get them but for now we are going to protect him the way we should have earlier."

"No monster will get through me, not without getting disemboweled first" Dean growled.

**AN**

**I thought this chapter was a bit touching. If you want to listen to the perfect song, look up Disciple's things left unsaid. That song is absolutely perfect for this chapter. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, sorry it took me so long to update. I have been hard at work at getting some books self published, not exactly an easy task. But I promise I am going to start trying to update my fanfictions for often. Have a great day.**


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